


Nightly Lessons

by InkStainedHands1177



Series: Prince Universe [7]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28497084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkStainedHands1177/pseuds/InkStainedHands1177
Series: Prince Universe [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/965928
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

It was interesting to actually be able to see Night in reality without dreams. She sat on the beach with me. There was no need for flashlights because I could see perfectly fine in the dark, and so could she.  I shook my head and yawned. I could barely keep my eyes open, but I knew better than to request our lessons in the day time. Night would give me a lecture on the evils of too much sunlight…again.

“Jackson, you are a prodigy in magic, but even a prodigy needs information. Why aren’t you listening?”

I sighed. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

She set her book down and looked at me. Her body posture seemed to say ‘Well?’

I chuckled, but then frowned. “Why me? Why did  _ you _ choose me? I know about Ouranos.”

She looked at her hands. “I only became interested in the idea of an heir when Kronos angered me. I did it out of spite at first, and then you began to intrigue me. Ouranos first noticed you when you gave Clarisse La Rue the golden Fleece. He realized that you were even better than the gods. Do not scoff, Perseus! We tell the truth.”

I sighed and shook my head. “If I’m better than the gods, then what do  _ you _ see in the mirrors?”

She chuckled and gave me a sly glance. “It is not so much what we see as to how we react to it. You wish to change, refusing to accept yourself as you are. The gods would just ignore it, denying that they were that bad.”

I thought about it and nodded. “I see.”

Night nodded briskly and when back to the lesson. “Today, I will teach you how to combat magicians.”

I cracked a grin, but Night beat me to it. “No, you do  _ not _ get a wand!”

I pouted. “How then?” My dreams of staffs, wizards, and wands were shattered.

Night smirked. “Mentally. I will teach you how to block others from seeing inside your mind, gods included.”

I grinned. “That’ll prove helpful. Will you teach me how to read others?”

She gave me a wary glance. “Not until you understand the severity of invading someone’s mind.” She sighed. “It is incredibly important that someone not probe you. The slightest invasion might pull your memories from behind your mental block.”

We got to work. All through the night, she coached, tested, drilled, and branded into me the rules of combat with the mind. There was only one hitch in our evening.

“Percy, what is the greatest form of magic you could use?”

“Mental, Ethereal Magic.”

She frowned. “Incorrect. I told you magic from spells and words is far more potent.”

I groaned. “Hecate.”

Night hissed. “ _ She  _ has been telling you lies! You shall not listen to her!”

Glaring at her, I growled, “It’s kinda hard to juggle two different views on magic, Night!” The air turned colder because of my anger, darkness rose from the ground in wisps.

“Lessen your interaction with Hecate.” Night seemed impervious to my mood. “She will give you nothing but bad habits.”

I nodded, wondering how I was going to do that. “Night, can I  _ please _ tell my father?”

“No. He would tell Zeus about Ouranos,  _ and _ he would discontinue our lessons.” She smiled at me and patted my cheek. “You wouldn’t want that, would you, my boy?”

I growled and moved away from her. No ignoring it now. I was hooked. I wanted to know more. Plus, Night and I were inexplicably connected. I knew that I had not only gotten used to the darkness around me, from her, but darkness was now coming  _ from _ me. It was both exhilarating and frightening.

“Lay down with dogs and get up with fleas,” I muttered.

Night laughed, a laugh tinged with victory. “Soon, you will become the Prince of Night.” I scowled. Another title. Not too nice of one either.

Ouranos appeared. “It is my turn with the young heir, Nyx.” She grumbled, but she signaled me to gather my things, and then, she vanished.

“What will you teach me?” I asked Ouranos. We were suddenly in his villa. It was made from black marble and silver veins. The furniture, the carpets, the curtains, everything was black with different constellations and star designs.

He smiled down at me. “How to push back Nyx. How to keep the darkness inside you, at bay.”

I smiled. “Perfect.” I had already decided to give him a second chance. I had been given nearly a month and a half to think over what Erebus taught me, and I realized that Ouranos had been pretty desperate. Desperate people tend to ignore manners and personal rights when they are…well, desperate.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And he has lessons with the universe.

I listened to Ouranos. “The first thing is to focus on what gives you hope, happiness, and light. It must be a healthy happiness. Not drugs or something of the like.”

I nodded and thought. “Annabeth, my family, and the Sea.

Ouranos nodded. “Good. Focus on them. To keep the darker nature in you contained, you should focus on what is light. Never lose that. It will be hard. Your mind is treacherous and rebellious. The slightest distraction will cause you to lose what it is you hold most dear.”

I nodded and swallowed. Ouranos smiled. “Now. Creating stars, transforming material into something else. You’ve become curious about this.” He smirked.

I looked at my hands. Ouranos patted my knee. “Relax. It is not bad to want to learn. It only matters what you do with that knowledge.” He stood up and summoned a stone from the garden we were sitting by. It was a garden filled with black roses and moon lace.

“With the magic you’re learning from Nyx, you have practice ethereal magic. Summon a stone to you with thought alone.”

I lifted my had and extended my magic to a nearby stone. The stone slapped into my palm with a painful sting. I winced. “Fucking stone.”

Ouranos snickered. Smoothing his features, he spoke again. “Twist the stone to your will. Bend it to  _ your  _ imagination.”

I exerted my will onto the stone, twisting it. Night came to my mind. I struggled not to think of darkness, but the more I tried not to, the more I did. I focused on my mom. Her smile, her laugh, the safety I felt around her. The sound of the sea, the softness of Annabeth’s lips.

The stone twisted and smoked and finally it set into a black cage of cold, harsh metal with small but razor sharp spikes, but floating inside the cage was a flawless, white, glowing stone. The thin metal cords seemed to curl around the gem, not touching it, as if repelled, but almost as if protecting it and trying to be as close as possible. It was entrancing.

Ouranos stared. “Beautiful…A perfect balance between light and dark. Flawless…”

I was panting. “Then I give it to you-”

“No!” His voice came out as sharp as the crack of a whip. I blinked.

“Why?” Was he still angry about what happened on the beach?

Ouranos sighed. “Your magic leaves a residue. If a sorcerer, or magician, learned enough about you, then they could unravel what you made and discover the very  _ heart _ of you. Your  _ essence. _ These inventions that need your memories, you desires, and your fears in order to be made, should not be handed out carelessly. Only give them to whom you trust, if you must give them away at all.”

He saw the confusion in my eyes and sighed. “Remember your lessons with Nyx. The darkness that you fear. You thought of your fear. However, you also thought of something that gave you light. Your mother, most likely. Your heart was put into this, Perseus. That stone you made in the chasm in your father’s kingdom, was only made for a purpose. It was a tool, not a work of art as  _ this _ is.”

I blinked and then understood. “This is the first thing that I’ve made like  _ this. _ ” I looked at Ouranos. A shiver went through me, as I held the cage the size of a hummingbird. “What  _ could _ they do to me, if they unraveled the magic that I use?”

“They would know your weaknesses, your strengths, your flaws, your biggest desires, your pressure points. They would know  _ you. _ ”

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. “Okay, mental note, don’t let anyone get these.”

Ouranos nodded. “Oh! And the more powerful sorcerers could harness the power you infused into this. They could take that power and unravel your…” He faltered as he searched for a way to explain it. “Your power is something like your magical DNA. If they could harness your power, then they could become you, shallowly. They wouldn’t know specific details of your past, but they would have a rough picture of who you are physically and mentally. For example, they wouldn’t know why your favorite color is blue, but they would know your mother’s name.”

I nodded and sighed. “How can I make something this beautiful, but  _ not _ this intimate? Something like that stone I made into a flashlight.”

Ouranos sighed. “You must stay detached. Keep a clear view of what you want. The product will no doubt be beautiful, but it will not be breathtaking.”

I nodded. “Okay…” I looked at my watch. Surprisingly, it worked wherever I was. Tyson was a miracle worker. “I need to go now. It’s almost dawn.”

He nodded and then pointed to the black cage with the glowing stone. “Keep that  _ very _ safe.” I nodded, and then, he took me back to my cabin.


End file.
